Board of Visitors summary of actions and discussions

Board of Visitors Summary of Actions and Discussions

Nov. 13, 2026

The James Madison University Board of Visitors met Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, in the Festival Conference and Student Center.

The following is a summary of actions taken by the Board and key areas of discussion at the Board meeting:

The consent agenda was approved, which included the minutes of Sept. 18, 2026, and Oct. 12, 2026.

Accepted committee reports from Academic and Research Excellence; Athletics; Audit, Risk and Compliance; Enrollment and Marketing; Governance; Finance and Physical Development; Philanthropy and Engagement; and Student Affairs.

Presentations to the Board of Visitors

Faculty Senate Speaker Melaine Shoffner provided an update from the Faculty Senate:

• The Faculty Senate held its first meetings of the 2026-2027 academic year on Sept. 3 and Oct. 1, 2026. Both meetings were conducted virtually.
• Faculty Senators serve on 16 different university-level committees.
• Each year, the Offices of the President and the Provost provide funds to the Faculty Senate in support of instructional faculty’s work with learning, civic, and/or community engagement; these funds are awarded through the Faculty Senate Engagement Mini-Grants. This year, $50,000 was allocated. The Research & Scholarship Committee, currently chaired by Marshal Ben Selznick, reviews proposals to determine winners of these competitive mini-grants. This fall, 28 applications were submitted, totaling $111,716 in requested funds. Winners will be announced later this month.
• There will be a search this year for the next Faculty Ombuds (formerly ombudsperson). The ombuds is a confidential resource for faculty who wish to discuss questions or concerns with an independent and neutral third party who is also able to provide information regarding university policies and procedures. Tracy Zinn (CHBS), as Speaker Pro Tempore, is chairing this committee with AVP Elizabeth Oldmixon and the current Ombuds David McGraw as members.
• To continue Senate efforts to engage with the strategic plan, Faculty Senators were asked to solicit feedback from their departmental faculty and complete a Senate survey on JMU’s proposed move to R1 status. The survey focused on gathering information from the faculty to better understand the perceived benefits and disadvantages of moving toward greater research activity and external funding, departmental interest in establishing new doctoral programs, and benefits and disadvantages of moving toward increased research doctoral degree production.

Gram Sher, Student Representative to the Board, provided the following updates:

• How can we navigate through the Madison Promise without breaking our promise to the students of today?
• What does a perfect execution of the Madison Promise look like to students? Ensure that we increase our services as we increase our enrollment; Limit the amount of construction at one time, while continuing to ensure that resources are still available for all students; Measurement: Student Satisfaction.
• Goal for this year - student perspective on the Madison Promise: How will this affect students' movement? How will this affect prospective students' views? What happens to the students who use that space?

President James Schmidt presented during his report:

• Meeting Virginia’s Healthcare Needs: Integrated Care and Workforce Action Forum brings healthcare and government leaders to JMU; Focus on workforce and patient care needs, integrated health and behavioral health services, and rural and underserved communities; Groundbreaking for $115.3 million expansion of College Health and Behavioral Studies facilities; Base support for Fast Flex Nursing strengthens JMU’s nursing program.
• Elevating JMU Through Impactful Research: JMU ranks No. 67 among public universities in U.S. News & World Report; 95% of universities ranked ahead of JMU are R1 institutions; The top 10 universities prospective students chose over JMU were all R1 institutions; JMU offers nine doctoral degrees and is actively developing programs in three more fields: Applied Behavior Analysis, Occupational Therapy and Security Studies; R1 is a metric of research activity, not a model of higher education for JMU to follow.
• Research Creating Opportunity & Global Impact: Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation: JMU first R2 institution to join Lab-to-Launch partnership; Provides access to Virginia’s first-ever Fast-Track License; Connects promising research with expertise, resources and capital. Center for International Stabilization and Recovery: 31 years global leadership; $5.92M awarded; Largest federal cooperative agreement JMU has received from Department of State; Project clears unexploded missiles and drones and prevents them from being obtained by terrorists.
• A new conference home: Full membership by July 1, 2028, with 17 of 18 sports in the American; Field hockey remains in the MAC; Greater national visibility and academic alignment: all 13 full members are R1 or R2, including 11 R1 universities; Private gifts cover the Sun Belt exit fee. New corporate partnerships fund the American entry fee; No student tuition, student fees or state taxpayer funding will support either fee; More than 84,000 JMU alumni live within 100 miles of American Conference campuses; Gratitude to the Sun Belt and its members for partnerships that helped JMU reach this point; Congrats to Vice President and Director of Athletics, Matt Roan.
• Investing in JMU: The Madison Promise goal: grow annual philanthropic support from about $30 million to $50 million by 2032; $15.9 million committed to date, compared to $7.5 million at this time last year; Endowment surpassed $200 million, ending FY26 at $218.6 million; 19.9% investment return in FY26, working with the JMU Foundation's outsourced CIO, CornerStone Partners; Top 25% of institutions nationally for endowment investment performance.
• JMU across the Commonwealth: #1 Legislative Priority – at least $8M to enhance compensation competitiveness; Growth in nursing, engineering, and real estate education; Capital: planning for College of Business Addition; Physics & Chemistry Addition; and Moody Hall Renovation; Discussions for combination of vehicle and pedestrian bridge over Interstate 81.
• Student Success & Access: A National Conversation: Join National Student Success Project: Academic excellence; affordability; career readiness; and student engagement; Final Census Fall 2026: Total Enrollment 23,133, First Year Students 5,008, Transfers 749, Total Undergraduates 21,403, Total Graduate Students 1,730; TRIO Talent Search grant $4.5M over 5 years; Pell Initiative of Virginia $6.1M; Chart Your Course to College.
• Listening to JMU – feedback and Q&A: Lunches with President Jim and the President’s Cabinet: Faculty and Staff, Students; Leadership Gathering with Directors, Associate Deans, and Unit Heads.
• Making Choices, Changing How We Work: Build the Madison District and new student housing; invest in employee well-being and compensation; Create a front door for partners; Optimize resources, revenue and programs; Develop new academic programs to meet the needs of the Commonwealth; Implement the Guarantees; Enhance research infrastructure for growth and impact; Establish effective AI governance and practices; Meaningful student work; Enhance support for undergraduate research; Develop and fund a strategic enrollment management plan; Expand the College of Health and Behavioral Studies; Realignment for Philanthropy and Engagement; Setting an example from my office - Presidential Engagement Fellows Program.

Yasmeen Shorish, Associate Dean, Libraries, and Special Advisor to the Provost on AI and Michael Swartley, Interim Associate Vice President/Chief Information Officer, Information Technology, presented on building JMU’s AI strategy:

• AI Strategy Working Group: New cross-divisional AI Strategy Working Group formed to codify principles and identify work to facilitate governance.
• Guiding Principles for AI use at JMU: Principles provide clarity and alignment with university mission, while allowing for the flexibility of application across disciplines and work types; Compiled based on local needs and effective practices in higher education; Provide a framework to assist in developing or reviewing policies, as necessary; Living guidance that may evolve over time, based on community needs.
• AI Gateway - Broader AI access with Institutional Controls: Equitable access for the entire JMU community; A choice of large language models to serve different needs; Data protection and cost controls; A shared interface to multiple AI models using the Cloudforce solution nebulaONE; A pilot initially to validate user needs, assess controls, and prepare support for broader adoption.

Mike Busing, Dean, College of Business, presented on preparing business leaders for an AI-enabled future:

• A Historical Perspective – AI in the College of Business (CoB)
• Presenters: Greg Gabriel, lecturer of computer information systems; Jeff Driscoll, lecturer of computer information systems; Alysa Brown, first-year student, marketing BBA.
• COB 204: Computer Information Systems: Foundational three credit hour requirement for all seven BBA majors and the CIS minor; Conceptual emphasis on systems, data, infrastructure, security and the business role of technology (2021 course objectives); fall 2026: 1,000 students, 15 sections, eight instructors; typical students: first or second year, majoring in finance, business management or marketing, ninth or tenth grade for ChatGPT public release.
• The “Digital Native” Assumption: Lifelong technology exposure does not establish readiness for business course work or imply information literacy or computing competence; Instructor observations indicate uneven college preparation in use of Generative AI, Business Tools and Computer Literacy.
• Faculty work already underway: Expanded classroom practice since 2024; Resources under exploration; Evaluation of a common applied approach.
• Solving the strategic issue: AI can make student work look fluent before understanding develops; The issue is not only whether AI was used; AI is ambient; Student judgment must be visible; students need a process for framing, grounding, revising and accounting for its use.
• The Four A’s Framwork at a glance: ask, anchor, adapt, account.
• Study: Competencies and Course Work: Core Business Technology Approaches at 16 Peer Institutions; Noteworthy trends; Earlier preparation, more applied course work, AI integration.
• Proposed Competency Additions: Similar competency gaps observed in industry and academic studies: AI-enabled professional practice; Productivity and collaboration; Computing and information literacy; Human judgment and accountability must be integrated into every technology competency.
• Long-term course evolution: today (three credits), near-term expansion (four credits), future growth (four + three credits).

The Board of Visitors voted and approved:

• Motion to approve Electronic Meeting Policy
• Motion to approve the Curriculum Update Master of Science, Data Leadership
• Motion to approve the Personnel Action Report